Apparatus for processing slide fasteners

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for processing slide fasteners including a two needle sewing machine for sewing portions of a pair of continuous slide fastener stringers with engaged coupling elements to portions of a garment or the like, cutting means for cutting off the remainder of the continuous stringers from the sewn on portions thereof, and means to permanently connect the cut-off ends of the remainder of the stringers.

United States Patent Gustavsson [54] APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING SLIDEFASTENERS Pertti O. Gustavsson, Boras, Sweden William Prym-Werke KG,Stollberg/Rheinland, Germany Filed: March 3, 1971 Appl. No.: 120,614

Related US. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 734,262, June 4, 1968,Pat. No. 3,570,434.

Inventor:

Assignee:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 5, 1967 Sweden ..7840/67Sept. 6, 1967 Germany ..l? 42946 US. Cl ..29/34 A, 29/2015 ST Int. Cl...B23p 23/00 Field of Search ..29/34 A, 207.5 ST, 408;

[451 Dec. 12,1972

Primary Examiner-Gil Weidenfeld AttorneyMichae1 S. Striker [57] ABSTRACTI Apparatus for processing slide fasteners including a two needle sewingmachine for sewing portions of a pair of continuous slide fastenerstringers with engaged coupling elements to portions of a garment orthelike, cutting means for cutting off the remainder of the continuousstringers from the sewn on portions thereof, and means to permanentlyconnect the cut-off ends of the remainder of vthe stringers.

14 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures SHEET 1 BF 3 PATENTED on: 12 I972 FIG]PATENTED HEB 12 9 3.705.446

sum 3 0F 3 INVENTOR Per-(f5 0. G t- PATENTEDBEIII m2 7 3.705.446

SHEET 3 [IF 3 INVENTOR PnT 601mm ATTORNEY 1 APPARATUS FOR PROCESSINGSLIDE FASTENERS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The presentapplication is a divisional application of the copendingapplication Ser.No. 734,262 filed June 4, i968 under the title Zip Fastener" now US.Pat. No. 3,570,434.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION sequently thereto, the sewn on slidefastener stringers are connected to each other by a stapleor. the likein an additional operation inwhich the article with the stringerssewn'thereto are moved to a stapling or similar coupling elementsengaged with each other onto portions of a garment or the like, cut-offmeans spaced in longitudinal direction of the stringers from the needlesof the sewing machine for cutting off the remainder of the continuousstringers from the portions thereof sewn to the garment, and meansintermediate the needles and the cut-off means for permanentlyconnecting the cut-off ends of the remainder of the pair of stringers inthe region of the cut-off ends to each other.

Therefore, the sewing of the two stringers to the garmentor the like,the cutting off of the remainder of the two stringers and the placing ofa permanent connection for connecting the cut-off ends of the twostringers can be carried out in one and the same apparatus. The controlof movement of the various elements of the apparatuscan thereby easilyperformed from single conmachine. These staples serve to connect the twostringers of the slide fasteners in the region of one end thereof witheach other and also to form a stop for the slider of the finished slidefastener.

This known processing of slide fasteners is cumbersome, and requiresconsiderable space and anumber of operators so that this way ofprocessing is costly and time'consuming. This known handling ofattaching of slide fasteners to garments or similar articles has theadditional disadvantage that the coupling elements on the two stringerswhich are not yet s'ewn to the garment or the like may become disengagedfrom each otherat the cut-off ends of the stringers which would makesubsequent attaching of a staple or the like to connect the SUMMARYOFTHE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus which. avoids the above mentioned disadvantages and whichfacilitates sewing of two side fastener stringers to a garment or thelike as well as cutting off the non-sewn stringer portions and toconnect the cut-off ends of the non-sewn stringer portions permanentlyto each other so as to avoid opening of the coupling members at thecut-off ends.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide anapparatus of theaforementioned kind, in which the sewing of the twoslide fastener stringers to a garment or the like, the cut-off of theunsewn stringer portions and the permanent connection of the cut-offstringer portions at the cut-off ends to each other can be carried outin a single apparatus and in proper sequence without the necessity ofshifting the garment or the like from one apparatus to another.

With these objects in view, the apparatus for processing slide fastenersmainly comprises, according to the present invention, a two-needlesewing machine for sewing portions of a pair of continuous slidefastener stringers having along inner edges thereof time ' presentinvention is that an adjustment of the garment or the like with theslide fastener stringers attached thereto during the placing of thepermanent connection is not necessary since after sewing of the slidefastener stringers to the garment or the like, the row of couplingelements are properly positioned so that the permanent connection may beproperly placed at the desired spot without the necessity of furtheradjusting the article.

A further advantage is that the connector for connecting the cut-offends of the remainder of the slide fastener stringer may be placed ontothe portions of the stringers which are not yet sewn to the article. Anydisengagement of the coupling elements at the cut-off ends of theremainder of the stringers is in this way positively prevented.

The above mentioned advantage of joining the two stringers of acontinuous fastener at the end portions previously left disconnected isespecially of interest in the case where an apparatus according to thepresent invention is supplied with numerous different types of slidefastener stringers which have to be processed in any desired sequence.When the slide fastener stringers are changed from one type to another,the end portions of the disconnected stringers left in the machine willin such case have to be removed and replaced by different ones. Duringsuch exchange one could hitherto hardly prevent the engaged couplingelements from accidentally opening at the place where the stringers havebeen cut. This danger is avoided with the apparatus according to thepresent invention in that the cut-off ends of the not yet sewn onstringer portions are permanently connected to each other.

While the cut-off of the remainder of the stringers and the permanentconnection thereof at the cut-off ends may be carried out in twosuccessive operations, it is of advantage to carry out these twooperations substantially simultaneously. The apparatus of the presentinvention preferably includes therefore operating means forsimultaneously operating the cut-off means and the connecting means.

The permanent connection of the two stringers at the cut-off ends may becarried out in various different ways. One way of connecting the cut-offstringer ends is to use preformed staples having prongs which are driventhrough the two stringers and then bent over so as to permanentlyconnect the two stringers to each other. In this case, the connectingmeans provided on the apparatus preferably include a stationary anviland a driver for driving the prongs of the preformed staple from oneside through the cut-off remainder of the two stringers and forsubsequently bending the prongs on the anvil on the other side of thestringers to thus connect the two stringers permanently to each other.If preformed staples are used, the apparatus preferably also includesmeans for feeding preformed staples to the driver.

Instead of using preformed staples it is also possible to construct theconnecting means of the apparatus according to the present invention insuch a manner to provide the connecting means with punch and die meansfor cutting pronged staples from a strip of material and forsubsequently driving the prongs of the thus formed staple from one sidethrough the cut-off remainder of the two stringers, and for bending theprongs then on the other side of the two stringers to thus connect thelatter to each other. In this case, the apparatus will preferablyinclude means for feeding a strip of material for forming the staples tothe punch and die means. The punch and die means are preferably formedin such a manner that the staple can be cut from the strip without anywaste.

An additional possibility to connect the cut-off remainder of the twostringers to each other is to make this connection by a weldingoperation. In this case the connecting means comprise welding meansincluding a stationary member and a reciprocating member movable towardand away from the stationary member and heating means for heating atleast one of the members. When the coupling elements on the twostringers are formed from thermoplastic material, the aforementionedwelding means may be arranged for welding the coupling elements of theremainder of the two stringers in the region of the cut-off ends to eachother so as to permanently connect the two stringers at the cut-off endsthereof, or a strip of weldable material may be fed in a directiontransverse to the elongation of the stringers in the region of thecut-off ends of the remainder thereof at least partly across thestringers and between the aforementioned members of the welding means asto connect the cut-off ends of the remainder of the stringers by aportion of the strip welded thereto.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top view showing a piece oftop material with a length of a continuous slide fastener sewn to itwith the apparatus according to the present invention, and in front ofit, the end portion of the two stringers of the slide fastener which arenot yet sewn to the top material with the two stringers permanentlyconnected to each other by a connecting piece;

. FIG. 2 is an end view of one modification of the apparatus accordingto the present invention in which preformed staples are used forpermanently connecting the cut-off ends of the remainder of the twostringers;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partial partially sectioned front view of anothermodification of an apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross section taken along line V-V of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5a is a top view ofa strip of material from which the staples maybe cut; and

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic front view of a further modification of anapparatus according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The various stages ofoperations to be performed with the machine according to the presentinvention can be visualized from FIG. 1. As shown therein, the slidefastener 1 comprises two stringers 2 and 3 of continuous length unwoundfrom a supply reel (not shown), which in FIG. 1 should be assumed to bearranged on the far side of the lower end of the drawing. In addition,to a single reel, several other types of slide fasteners may be providedon other reels, ready to be inserted in the apparatus according to thepresent invention. The stringers are unwound from the reel and insertedin the machine according to the present invention in the direction ofthe arrow 4. The tapes of the slide fastener are joined to the topmaterial 6 at the stitching point of the machine, the exact location ofwhich is at the lower end of the rows of stitches 5 shown in chain linesin FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows the top material 6 consisting of two partsseparated by a slit.

The slit in the top material is so arranged relative to the tapespassing through the machine that it is exactly aligned with the couplingelements 8 and 9 on the two stringers 2 and 3 of the fastener. Thematerial 6 and the tapes of the two stringers are picked up by theconveyor at the stitching point of the machine and joined together bylines of stitches 5 formed simultaneously in both stringers of thefastener. The top material 6 may be folded in known manner in the regionof the slit 7 for which purpose known folding devices may be used whichare mounted for instance on the pressure foot of the sewing machine.

When the desired length of tape has been sewn to the top material 6 thislength 10 is severed from the remainder 11 of the continuous fastener 1which is still connected to the supply reel and not yet joined to thetop material 6, by the cut 12 shown in FIG. 1. At the same time as thecut is made, a connector 13 is fitted onto the yet unprocessed endportion 11 of the continuous fastener l to keep the coupling elements 8and 9 of the two stringers 2 and 3 securely engaged at this point.

When the length 10 has been stitched to the top material and severedfrom the remainder 11 of the fastener, the top material 6 is removed andpassed on for further processing of the slide fastener, such as fittinga slider to the two stringers. The end portion 11 of the fastener isalready correctly positioned in the gers 2 and 3 will not becomeseparated during the processing.

As will be seen from the chain lines 3 in FIG. 1, the I lines ofstitching have in the 'present case been continued beyond the end of thetop material 6 into the end portion 11 still joined to the reel. Thelines of the stitching. extending into the end portion 11 below the cut12 are evidently not used for the attachment of the top material,however, the connector 13 is-placed on the far side of the stitchingpoint and can therefore not obstruct the process of stitching the endportion 11 onto the next piece of top material.

If it is desired, to sew a fastener of different color or. size to thenext piece of top material instead of the fastener 1 illustrated, theend portion 11 "can be simply pulled out of the machine and the end ofanew fastener be inserted. The connector 13 will insure that thecoupling elements on the two stringers 2 and 3 on the pulled outfastener will not come apart in the process, even if roughly treated. V

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate details of one embodiment of the machineaccording to the present invention. The fastener I seen in FIG. 3,coming from a supply reel (not shown), is fed to the machine from theleft. In the position shown the tape is on thepoint of beingjoined to'apiece of top material about to be inserted into the machine. On its waythroughthe machine the fastener 1 passes first through a guide beforepassing through the stitching point 23 where the two needles 21 and thepressure foot 22 are located. Subsequently thereto, the fastener passesthrough the cutting means of the apparatus comprising a movable cuttingmember 24 and is a stationary cutting-member 25. The cutting edges ofthe two members 24 and 25 define the cutting point 26 of the machine. v

The movable cutting member 24 is connected by a piston rod 27 to apiston 28 reciprocably arranged a cylinder 29 operated by compressedair. The piston 28 is vertically reciprocated in dependence on thesupply of compressed air through the pipes 30 and 31 communicating withthe interior of the cylinder. Thereby a corresponding movement isimparted to the movable cutting member 24 so that upon downward movementof the movable cutting member 24,-the cutting edges of l the members 24and 25 of the "cutting means will sever the length of the fastener 1passed between the two cutting members from the end portion of thefastener left in the machine.

In accordance with the present invention, the connecting points 32 atwhich the two stringers at the cutoff end of the fastener are to beconnected to each other is located between the stitching point 23 andthe cut-off point 26. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3,preformed staples aregused for connecting the two stringers atthe'cut-off ends to each other. The connecting means, that is the meansfor driving the prongs of the preformed staples through thetwostr'ingers and for bending the prongs subsequently thereto inengagement with the bottomfaces'of the two stringers, comprise areciprocable driver 33 and a stationary anvil or plate 34.

The staple 35 are fed beneath the driver along a conveying path 36. Atthe end of the path is a barrier or stop which permits advancing of thestaples one at the time along the path. The conveyor. path is shown inthe form of a rail 36 leading from an elevated container, not shown inthe drawing, downwardly so that the preformed staples will move alongthe rail downwardly by gravity. The manner in which the staples in thecontainer are placed in proper position on the rail 36 does not formpart of the present invention, and is therefore not illustrated in thedrawing.

The driver 33 of the stapler or connecting means is likewise connectedto the piston rod 27 and on the above mentioned movement of the pistonrod 27, the driver 33 is thereby, synchronously with the cutting member24, moved up-and down. At its downward movement, the barrier or stop 37is moved about its hinge point 39 thereby automatically advancing thestaples for the distance of one staple toward'the driver 33 so that theapparatus is always ready for operation.

By virtueof positioning of the fastener 1 in exact alignment with themachine, the staple 35 which is I lowered by the driver 33 is insertedin the end portion of the fastener left in the machine at the correctdesired distance from the cutting point. When the'ends of a staple havepenetrated the tape at the fastener 1, they come into contact with thebending plate or anvil of the stapler, where they are bent over in thedesired direction by, means of suitable cavities provided in the anvil.

FIGS. 4 andSillustrate another embodiment of the apparatus according tothe present invention, in which the apparatus includes punch and diemeans for forming staples from a strip of staple material, for instancebrass or similar material, and for subsequently driving the thus formedstaples through the cut-off ends of the two stringers to permanentlyconnect the two stringers at the cut-off ends to each other. In FIGS. 4and 5 only the means for forming and driving the thus formed staplesthroughthe stringers are shown, whereas the other elements of theapparatus, that is the sewing needles and the pressure foot, as well asthe means for cutting off the stringers are not illustrated therein. Itis however to be understood that theelements of the apparatus il-Iustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 are again located betweenthe stitchingp'oint23 and the cut-off point 26 as shown in FIG. 3.

The'connecting means 47 that is the means for forming a staple from astrip 41 of staple material and for driving the thus formed staplesthrough the cut-off ends of the two stringers comprises a stationaryhousing 40 formed at one side and in the lower portion thereof with aslit through which a strip of staple material 41 is stepwise fed by aschematically illustrated feeding mechanism 42 into the interior of thehousing. The housing is provided at its lower end with inwardlyprojecting die parts 40a and 40b of a configuration as best shown inFIG. 5, which may be integrally formed with the housing 40 or attachedthereto in any convenient manner. A punch 43 is located within thehousing 40 for reciprocating relative thereto in vertical direction. Thepunch 43 has a pair of downwardly extending branches 43a and 43brespectively ground to match the contours'of the die parts 40 and 40b. Apressure punch 45 is located and guided between the branches 43a and 43bof the cutting punch 43 and movable relative thereto in verticaldirection. A compression spring 46 sandwiched between the punches 43 and45, as shown in FIG. 4, and ears 45a projecting laterally from the upperend of the pressure punch 45 and engaging corresponding shoulders on thecutting punch 43 maintain at the start the punch 45 in the positionrelative to the punch 43 as illustrated in FIG. 4. A withdrawable anvil44 is located beneath the bottom end of the punch 45 and between the twodie parts 400 and 40b. The anvil 44 is withdrawable in a directionnormal to the plane of the drawing sheet. A stationary anvil 34,corresponding to the anvil 34 shown in FIG. 3, is located downwardlyspaced from the withdrawable anvil 44 and the die parts 40a and 49b.

The above described apparatus will operate as follows:

The strip 41 is stepwise fed into the interior of the housing 40 untilthe left end of the strip, as viewed in FIG. 4, will abut against theinner face of the left housing part. The cut-off and forming punch 43 isthen moved in downward direction, for instance by the piston rod 27',forming part of cylinder piston means as shown in FIG. 3, and duringdownward movement of the punch 43 the part 55 of the strip portionlocated within the housing will be cut off, as indicated by the dottedline in FIG. a, from the remainder of the strip by the cooperation ofthe branch 43b with the die part 40b and during further downwardmovement of the punch 43, the portions of the cut-off part of the strip41 located laterally to opposite sides of the anvil 44 will be bentabout this anvil. During this downward movement of the cutting andbending punch 43 the pressure punch 45 will remain stationarily whilethe spring 46 is compressed. The punch 43 may move downwardly until thelower ends of the branches 43a and 43b engage or nearly engage the twostringers resting on the upper surface of the stationary anvil 43.Subsequently thereto, the anvil 44 is withdrawn in a direction normal tothe movement of the punch 43 from beneath the formed staple, so that theforce of the compressed spring 46 moves the pressure punch 45, whichengages the upper surface of the staple, forcefully downwardly so thatthe prongs of the staple will penetrate through the two stringers toengage the stationary anvil 40' which then cooperates with the pressurepunch 45 to bend the prongs of the staple toward the bottom face of thestringers. The withdrawal of the punch 44 may be carried out in anyconvenient manner, for instance by means of a second cylinder and pistonmeans connected thereto, which is operated in timed sequence with thecylinder and piston means cooperating with the punch 43. It is to beunderstood that the apparatus includes also cut-off means as describedin connection with FIGS. 1 and 3 in which the movable cut-off member maybe operated by the same cylinder and piston means which move the punch43 of the connecting means 47 in the manner as described above, however,for simplification and reason, these cut-off means are not shown inFIGS. 4 and 5.

Evidently, instead of providing a compression spring cooperating withthe two punches it is also possible to provide separate moving means forthe punches 43 and 45 which will move the two punches in proper sequenceand through the necessary different strokes.

FIG. 6 illustrates a further embodiment according to the presentinvention in a schematic manner. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, theconnecting means of the apparatus for permanently connecting the freeends of the cut-off stringers comprises welding means designated withthe reference numeral 56 in FIG. 6. For simplification reason and forreason of clarity, the cut-off means of the apparatus which are locateddownstream of the welding means 56 are not shown in FIG. 6, which showsonly the pressure foot 22 which is located upstream of the weldingmeans.

The welding means 56 comprise a stationary member, shown in FIG. 6 as abridge 49 of material having a high electrical resistance, and areciprocatable member 48 movable toward and away from the bridge 49 andoperated for instance by the same piston and cylinder means whichreciprocates the movable member of the cutting means. After the twoslide fastener stringers have passed beneath the pressure foot 22 of thesewing machine part of the apparatus according to the present invention,the movable member 48 will be moved together with the movable member ofthe cutting means in downward direction, whereby the coupling members 8and 9 on the two stringers which are formed of thermoplastic materialare pressed against the bridge 49. At this moment, a current is passedthrough a transformer 53, the conductors 50 and through the bridge 49 sothat the latter will be heated whereby the coupling elements which areengaged by the bridge will be softened and be pressed by the member 48into each other, so that after recooling of the heated coupling elementsa welding connection of the two stringers will result. A time relay 54located in circuit with the transformer 53 regulates the duration andheating of the bridge 49.

In some cases, it will however be desirable to use not only the materialof the coupling members but additional welding material to form thewelded connection. This is also illustrated in FIG. 6, which showsschematically feeding means 52 for feeding a strip of welding material41, for instance a strip of thermoplastic material, between the members48 and 49. Due to downward movement of the member 48 the material of thestrip 51 will be pressed against the coupling members located betweenthe members 48 and 49 so as to weld during heating of the bridge aportion of the strip 51 to the coupling members. The right edge of themovable member 48 cuts in its lower end position the necessary portionfrom the strip 51.

Instead of contact heating as described above, it is also possible touse for producing of the necessary heat high frequency currents orsupersonic soundwaves. In such a case, the therefore necessary elementsare placed instead of the above mentioned high resistance bridge 49 onthe apparatus.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofapparatus for processing slide fasteners differing from the typesdescribed above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in anapparatus for processing slide fasteners in which in one and the sameapparatus two stringers of the slide fastener are sewn onto a basematerial, the stringers cut off and the cut-off parts of l060l0 001i thetwo stringers are connected to each other at the cut-off ends thereof,it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since variousmodifications and structural changes may be. made without departing inany way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoingwill so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt it forfvarious applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What'is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended v1'. Apparatus for processing slide fastenerscomprising, in combination, a two needle sewing machine for sewingportions of a pair-of continuous slide fastener stringers having alonginner edges thereof coupling elements engaged with each other ontoportions of sheet material; cut-off means spaced in longitudinaldirection of the stringers a predetermined distance from the needies ofthe sewing machine for cutting off the remainder of the continuousstringers from the portions thereof sewn to thesheetmaterial; andmeans-intermediate said needles and said cut-off means for permanentlyconnecting the cut-off ends of the remainder of the pair of stringers inthe region of the cut-off ends to each other.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cut-off means andsaid connecting means are connected to each other for simultaneousmovement.

3. An apparatusas defined in claim 1 and including operating means forsimultaneously operating said cutoff means and said connecting means.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said operating meanscomprise fluid operated cylinder and piston means and means connectingsaid piston means to said cut-off means and said connecting means.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said cut-off meanscomprise a stationary member having a cutting edge and a reciprocatablemember having a cutting edge cooperating with the cutting edge of thestationary member andwherein said operating means comprise meansconnected to said reciprocatable member for reciprocating the same.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said connecting meanscomprise a stationary element and a reciprocatable element connected tosaid reciprocatable member of said cut-off means for simultaneousreciprocation.

7. An apparatus as .defined in claim 6, wherein said stationary elementcomprises an anvil and wherein said reciprocatable element comprises adriver for driving feeding means comprise a rail ending short of thepath.

of reciprocation of said driver and movable stop means at the end of therail located in the path of reciprocation of the driver.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said connecting meanscomprise punch and die means for cutting and forming pronged staplesfrom a strip of material and for subsequently driving the prongs of athus formed staple from one side through the cut-off remainder of thetwo stringers and for bending the prongs on the other side of thestringers to thus connect the latter to each other, and means forfeeding said strip of material stepwise to the punch and die means.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein said punch and diemeans comprise a stationary guide member including a die section, awithdrawable anvil adjacent said die section, and punch means arrangedfor reciprocation in said stationary guide means and connected to saidoperating means to be reciprocated thereby relative to said die sectionand cooperating with the latter and said withdrawable anvil for cuttingoff portions of the strip, for forming the cut-off portions intoU-shaped staples provided with prongs, and for driving the prongs of athus formed staple, after withdrawing of said withdrawable anvil,through the stringers.

. 12. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said connecting meanscomprise welding means including a stationary and a reciprocating membermovable toward and away from said stationary member and heating meansfor heating at least one of said members, said members being arranged toextend at least partly across the remainder of said pair of stringers inthe region of said cut-off ends thereof.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein at least said couplingelements on said stringers are formed from thermoplastic material andwherein said welding means are arranged for welding the couplingelements of the remainder of said stringers in the region of the cut-offends to each other.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 12 and including means for feedinga strip of weldable material in a direction transverse to the elongationof said stringers, in the region of the cut-off ends of the remainder ofthe stringers at least partly across the same and between said membersof said welding means so as to connect said cut-off remainder of saidstringers by a portion of said strip welded thereto.

1. Apparatus for processing slide fasteners comprising, in combination,a two needle sewing machine for sewing portions of a pair of continuousslide fastener stringers having along inner edges thereof couplingelements engaged with each other onto portions of sheet material;cut-off means spaced in longitudinal direction of the stringers apredetermined distance from the needles of the sewing machine forcutting off the remainder of the continuous stringers from the portionsthereof sewn to the sheet material; and means intermediate said needlesand said cutoff means for permanently connecting the cut-off ends of theremainder of the pair of stringers in the region of the cut-off ends toeach other.
 2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said cut-offmeans and said connecting means are connected to each other forsimultaneous movement.
 3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 andincluding operating means for simultaneously operating said cut-offmeans and said connecting means.
 4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3,wherein said operating means comprise fluid operated cylinder and pistonmeans and means connecting said piston means to said cut-off means andsaid connecting means.
 5. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, whereinsaid cut-off means comprise a stationary member having a cutting edgeand a reciprocatable member having a cutting edge cooperating with thecutting edge of the stationary member and wherein said operating meanscomprise means connected to said reciprocatable member for reciprocatingthe same.
 6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein said connectingmeans comprise a stationary element and a reciprocatable elementconnected to said reciprocatable member of said cut-off means forsimultaneous reciprocation.
 7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6,wherein said stationary element comprises an anvil and wherein saidreciprocatable element comprises a driver for driving prongs of apreformed staple from one side through the cut-off remainder of the twostringers and for bending the prongs on said anvil at the other side ofthe stringers to thus connect the two stringers to each other. 8.Apparatus as defined in claim 7, and including means for feedingpreformed staples to said driver.
 9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8,wherein said feeding means comprise a rail ending short of the path ofreciprocation of said driver and movable stop means at the end of therail located in the path of reciprocation of the driver.
 10. Anapparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said connecting means comprisepunch and die means for cutting and forming pronged staples from a stripof material and for subsequently driving the prongs of a thus formedstaple from one side through the cut-off remainder of the two stringersand for bending the prongs on the other side of the stringers to thusconnect the latter to each other, and means for feeding said strip ofmaterial stepwise to the punch and die means.
 11. An apparatus asdefined in claim 10, wherein said punch and die means comprise astationary guide member including a die section, a withdrawable anviladjacent said die section, and punch means arranged for reciprocation insaid stationary guide means and connected to said operating means to bereciprocated thereby relative to said die section and cooperating withthe latter and said withdrawable anvil for cutting off portions of thestrip, for forming the cut-off portions into U-shaped staples providedwith prongs, and for driving the prongs of a thus formed staple, afterwithdrawing of said withdrawable anvil, through the stringers.
 12. Anapparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said connecting means comprisewelding means including a stationary and a reciprocating member movabletoward and away from said stationary member and heating means forheating at least one of said members, said members being arranged toextend at least partly across the remainder of said pair of stringers inthe region of said cut-off ends thereof.
 13. An apparatus as defined inclaim 12, wherein at least said coupling elements on said stringers areformed from thermoplastic material and wherein said welding means arearranged for welding the coupling elements of the remainder of saidstringers in the region of the cut-off ends to each other.
 14. Anapparatus as defined in claim 12 and including means for feeding a stripof weldable material in a direction transverse to the elongation of saidstringers, in the region of the cut-off ends of the remainder of thestringers at least partly across the same and between said members ofsaid welding means so as to connect said cut-off remainder of saidstringers by a portion of said strip welded thereto.